The Kopanisti Cheese of Mykonos

Kopanisti is a cheese that closely resembles the surroundings amid which it came into being and gained its most ardent devotees. You can even sense the rocks that gave a hard time to the creatures offering their milk for its production. You can discern within its body the redeeming northern wind, the light that bathes the Cyclades all year round, the wealth and flavor of the local vegetation. You can feel the necessity out of which it was born: to preserve the excess cheese and spice up the lives of those not endowed with the privilege of the horn of Amalthea. Kopanisti is not an easy cheese, much like the islanders ourselves. We take our time, we need to gradually gain familiarity with others. Only then does the often rough sea that surrounds us become a channel of communication, the mystery that has kept us at a distance is unraveled, the hearts are elated, the taste buds are conquered. In our adventurous expedition to tame this challenging ingredient, we were graciously offered original recipes - by friends who cook professionally: Christos Athanasiadis, Nicholas Antonopoulos, Giannis Vasilas, George Venieris, Yiannis Gavalas, Dimitris Giginis, Pavlos Grivas, Antonia Zarpa, Irini Zouganeli, Nena Ismyrnoglou, Georgia Kalantzi, Angelina Kalogeropoulou, Andreas Karakanis, Nikos Koukiasas, lakovos Kousathanas, Athinagoras Kostakos, losif Manouselis, Panagiotis Menardos, Dimitris Panteleakis, Stelios Parliaros, Vangelis Pelekis, Christophoros Peskias, George Rizopoulos, Ben Provis, - and by friends who cook at home: Dimitris Antonopoulos, Michalis Apostolou, Dimitra Voulgaraki, Nana Dareioti, Yiannis Korovesis, Manos Konstantaras, Eva Monochari, Alexis Nazos, Kiki Triantafylli, Francesca Hanioti.